The DMNW Guide to All of the Bass at FreakNight 2016

The beginning of October and changing of the seasons can only mean one thing: FreakNight. Celebrating their 20th anniversary, our friends at USC Events have decided that more is better when it comes to bass-centric artists performing at the Tacoma Dome later this month. With an entire stage dedicated to bass music at most USC Events massives, we’re spoiled with bass in the PNW. This is something we’ve become accustomed to, and with artists like Zomboy wondering aloud whether or not Seattle is the bass capital of the world, we’re happy FreakNight 2016 is proving us right.

FreakNight has included more than a few great bass acts, with performances from Destroid, Andy C, Noisia, Datsik, and more throughout their 20-year history. A recent look to last year’s lineup provides even more proof, as Figure, NERO, SKisM b2b LAXX, Sub Focus, Dirtyphonics, and many more quality bass artists helped us rage over two-nights at the Tacoma Dome.

Our love of bass, and FreakNight, is never in doubt, and the combination of the two is what gets us out of bed in the morning. It’s hard to argue with a great local-event that’s paired with top-notch talent, both from near and far, in one of our favorite genres of music. So, in anticipation for this year’s festivities, we’re taking a look at all of the bass we’ll be treated to at FreakNight 2016 this fall.

Note: We’d also like to note that we’re being generous with our definition of bass music, and this article isn’t about the *cough* annoying *cough* intricacies within genres that so many love to discuss.

Things get wild at the Bass Stage – Photo Credit: Turk Photos

Friday

While the first night of fun at FreakNight 2016 features slightly less bass than the second, the artists performing more than make up for the difference. The bass acts on Friday are headlined by Circus Records co-founder Flux Pavilion, an artist that Northwest bass-heads always turn-out for. He’s one of the most popular bass artists in all of dance music, and his songs are found throughout bass-heavy sets around the world. There’s lots of great bass acts at FreakNight this fall, but Flux Pavilion tops the list.

He’ll be joined by a couple of artists Shambhala-attendees had the opportunity to enjoy on the same night earlier this year, as Getter and Ghastly performed on Sunday of the festival. FreakNight fans will get a similar experience, and getting them both on the same night is a king-size-candy we can’t wait to enjoy. While their versions of bass music are decidedly different, neither artist should be missed at FreakNight 2016.

British trio Gentlemen’s Club will be bringing their brand of hip-hop-heavy bass music from across the pond, while compatriots Modestep make their return to the Northwest. The London-based quartet have put on some incredible performances in our corner of the continent in recent years, and their inclusion is one of our favorite on the entire FreakNight 2016 lineup.

The bass-heavy acts rounding out Friday’s artists include a couple of Americans who embody the future of dubstep and bass music stateside. Regulars with SKisM’s Never Say Die label, and it’s dubstep-focused sister-label NSD: Black Label, TrollPhace and MUST DIE! are proof that bass-heads are in good hands. As are bass-heads attending day one of FreakNight 2016, with all sorts of high-quality, heavy-bass available at the Tacoma Dome.

About DMNW

Dance Music Northwest is an award-winning media company, providing our users editorials, new music, events, club and DJ listings, and nightlife intelligence. Dance Music Northwest also actively lobbies for common sense harm reduction measures at the individual, festival, and city levels.